IPL 2022: RR beat LSG by 3 runs in thriller; Kuldeep Sen's nerves of steel lauded

Young Kuldeep Sen defended 15 runs in the final over against Lucknow Super Giants to lead Rajasthan Royals to a thrilling three-run victory in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 clash on Sunday.

On debut, Kuldeep was against an in-form Marcus Stoinis, who had smashed Prasidh Krishna for 19 runs in the over before. Sen gave 11, and it turned out to be a match-winning effort from the youngster. Lucknow, chasing 166, could manage only 162/8 in the end. 

Following this effort, Twitter exploded with several fans lauding the debutant's nerves of steel in the final over of the game. Here's a look at some of the reactions:

Earlier today, Shimron Hetmyer and Ravichandran Ashwin's 68-run partnership for the fifth wicket guided Rajasthan Royals to 165-6. Ashwin stunned the opposition with an IPL first of 'retired out' on 28 off 23 balls as he departed after 18.2 overs of the Royals innings to allow Riyan Parag to join Hetmyer.

Hetmyer smashed four more sixes in the final two overs and Parag also got a hit over the fence in his four-ball stay.

Also read: Twitter explodes after RR's Ashwin becomes 1st batsman to get 'retired out' in IPL history

However, defending 165, Trent Boult delivered two deliveries of brilliance in the first over, a peach of an inswinger to send skipper KL Rahul back the first ball, followed by Krishnappa Gowtham in a similar fashion. 

LSG could never recover from these early setbacks, thanks to a stunning 4/41 from Yuzvendra Chahal. And despite a late resurgence thanks to Marcus Stoinis (38* off 17b), it was RR's young quick Kuldeep Sen who bowled the final over and capped an impressive debut by defending 15 runs.